Coming to Terms
by HP Slash Luv
Summary: Muggle!AU. Remus was diagnosed with a disease which mean chocolate is a serious no-no. How will he react?


**Written for:**

**Hogwarts: **365 Prompts  
Prompt - Healthy

**Hogwarts: **Writing Club  
Love in Motion - Triad: Sirius/Remus/James  
Assorted Appreciation - 2. Write about someone giving something up for a long period of time  
Disney Challenge - Character 3. Alternatively, write about jealousy.  
Showtime - 17. Oliver! (reprise) - (emotion) Delighted

**Hogwarts: **April Auction  
Day 4 - Auction 2 - Restrictions: No characters over 18

**HPFC: **Favorite Character Bootcamp  
Character - Remus, Prompt - Drab

**HPFC: **Favorite House Bootcamp  
Prompt - Easy

**HPFC: **Character Diversity Bootcamp  
Character - Remus, Prompt - Endurable

**HPFC: **Pairing Diversity Bootcamp  
JamesSiriusRemus, Prompt - Petite

**HPFC: **Slash/Femslash Bootcamp  
Prompt - Frail

**Coming to Terms**

Seventeen-year old Remus moped, slumped on the stoop outside of the house. He stared at the kid across the street. The younger girl from the neighborhood who Remus barely knew happily munched on a chocolate bar, and he felt such a ache in his chest. He had to fight the urge to run across the street and yank the bar out of her hand.

Everything used to be so easy. He could have chocolate whenever he wanted. Every bite sent a pulsing joy through his body. It was like ecstasy. But now…

Remus sighed. Now his life was like an endless nightmare. He wasn't allowed chocolate. Right now, he couldn't even eat a small piece. The most petite slab of delicious chocolate could send his blood sugar shooting up until the doctor figure out the right mixture of medicine and insulin for him.

"Hey, whatcha doing?" James asked.

Remus looked over as James and Sirius walked on the sidewalk, stopping at the railing of the porch Remus currently sat on like a lump. "Just thinking about how drab everything seems now."

Sirius cut a glance to James. "And they call me dramatic."

"Don't worry. You are," James retorted. He sat down next to Remus, resting a hand on Remus' bouncing knee. "Bad trip to the doctor?"

Remus nodded. "They took my readings. My blood sugar was still too high with the mixture. At this rate, I'm never going to get chocolate again. It's not endurable! I feel so frail. Like what's the point of even getting up out of bed in the morning?

Sirius arched an eyebrow. "I know you love chocolate, but come on. That's a little much, isn't it?"

Remus glared at the other boy. "You don't get it!"

Remus turned his eyes back to the girl across the street. "I never thought I'd be jealous of a girl."

Both James and Sirius turned to see what Remus was staring at.

"It's not the girl's fault that she gets to eat chocolate and you don't," James said.

"I know, but it's still not fair."

Sirius sat and sat down on Remus' other side. "This isn't forever. Once they get the mixture right-"

Remus shook his head and interrupted Sirius. "Even then, I can only eat it in moderation. That might be worse than not eating it at all. Why did I have to become diabetic? It's not like I'm fat. Diabetes is supposed to be a fat person's disease."

Sirius opened his mouth in shock. "Wow, Remus, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually a little bit ashamed of you right now." He stood up and back away.

Remus glared up at the raven-haired boy. "What?"

James stood up as well. "I can't believe you said that. I mean, I know you're dealing with something, coming to terms with having diabetes, but that was just mean. It's like you're saying if you're diabetic and overweight, it's your fault and you deserve it."

Sirius turned around. "Maybe you should think about what you just said. Then you'll realize how out of line you were."

The two of them walked away, leaving Remus with his mouth gaping open in shock. He had never been called out for saying any mean words. In fact, he was usually describe as the sensitive one out of the trio. What was wrong with him?

X

"Hello, Remus," Doctor Pomfrey said.

Remus silently waved.

"I see that you signed up for this counseling session because your diagnosis is relatively new."

Remus shrugged. "My insurance covers it. Why not use it?"

"When were you diagnosed?" Doctor Pomfrey asked.

"A couple of months ago, but it feels much longer."

Doctor Pomfrey's smile was kind. "I bet it does. Many people have trouble accepting it when they're first diagnosed. What's been the hardest part for you?"

Remus stared at the painting that hung on the wall behind Doctor Pomfrey. It wasn't much, a simple landscape piece. It was of a small cottage-like house in a meadow with flowers and trees surrounding it. It looked something out of Little House on a Prairie. "Not being able to eat chocolate."

"Ahh, you have a sweet tooth," Doctor Pomfrey said with a nod.

Remus looked at her again. "Only for chocolate. Other than that, I eat pretty healthy. Chocolate is my only vice, and it's not fair that I can't have it."

"Anything else bothering you?" Doctor Pomfrey asked knowingly.

Remus stared at her. "I thought you were a diabetes counselor. Why are you trying to shrink me?"

Doctor Pomfrey didn't look fazed by his anger. "I'm here to help anyway I can."

Remus sighed. "My boyfriends are mad at me."

Doctor Pomfrey raised her eyebrow. "Boyfriends?"

Remus smirked. "What? Freaked now?"

"It's unconventional, but I'm not 'freaked out.' Just surprised. Why are they angry at you?"

"I said something they didn't like."

"What did you say?" Doctor Pomfrey pushed.

Remus averted his eyes. "I'm ashamed now, but at the time, I was just feeling bad for myself, and it came out of my mouth without me thinking about it."

"What did you say?" Doctor Pomfrey once again prodded.

Remus mumbled.

"I didn't get that."

He sighed and spoke louder and clearer. "I said that diabetes is supposed to be a fat person's disease."

"Well, that is a common misconception unfortunately, but many skinny people have diabetes. Some are even born with it. Women are more likely than men, and if you have a family member that has it, it makes you even more likely to develop it. Does either of your parents have it?"

"Not really. My grandmother did on my mother's side, and my mum was on the borderline, but…"

"But it's still in your family."

Remus nodded.

"I'd recommend you apologize to your boyfriends. They know you're dealing with something you didn't see coming. They'll forgive you."

"I know they will. We've known each other for years. We always forgive each other for anything, but they've never been ashamed of me before, and I hate that."

"Two boyfriends, right?" Doctor Pomfrey asked.

Remus nodded.

"I'm sure the three of you will move on." She paused. "I do have some news for you. News I hope you think is good and that might help your cravings. It's something I'm surprised your Endocrinologist didn't bring up."

"What is it?" Remus asked, hope bleeding through in his voice.

"Well, it's true that you have to watch how much milk chocolate you eat. In fact, even once everything is stabilized, you can't eat that much of it, but dark chocolate can actually be good for you. If you consume 20g a day, it helps increase your sensitivity to insulin, which can only help you."

"So, I can eat chocolate. I mean, I've always eaten milk chocolate, but I'll eat dark chocolate if it's all I can have. Chocolate is chocolate."

"Yes, you still have to watch it. Don't go overboard," she warned, "but it will you, and it won't be as detrimental to your health as milk chocolate would be."

Remus found himself breathing a little easier for the first time since he was diagnosed. "Wow. And here I was just coming because my mum was making me. Who knew something good would actually come out of this session?"

Doctor Pomfrey stood up and walked to her desk. She opened a drawer and pulled out a bag. She took a couple of fun size dark chocolate hershey bars out of the bag and put the bag away. She walked over to Remus who eagerly had his hand out and ready for the treat.

As soon as the first chocolate bar was in his mouth, a delighted smile flitted across his face, and he let a moan of satisfaction. "I think dark chocolate is my new favorite thing."

Doctor Pomfrey laughed. "I'm glad you liked my news. Now your homework before our follow up session. Apologize to your boyfriends and stop throwing a pity party for yourself. Diabetes isn't the end of the world, and you can still live and full, rich life with it. Enjoy what you can do, and be thankful it was caught so early. It's much worse when adults are diagnosed than kids."

Remus happily chewed, thinking about everything the counselor told him.

X

James and Sirius were lounging on James' bed when Remus walked in. "Is there room for me?" he tentatively asked.

"Depends. Did you get an attitude adjustment?" Sirius sardonically asked.

Remus looked at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"Come here," James sighed, moving over a bit, making room for the other boy between them.

Remus' smile was relieved as climbed onto the bed, shuffling so he was sandwiched between their bodies. "I'm doing better now. The session with the counselor helped. I am now allowed to eat dark chocolate. It's not the same, but it's still chocolate at least."

Sirius pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "I get that you were upset, but you can't let chocolate have that much of a hold on you that you say something so callous."

"I know, but not only was I told I can eat chocolate, I learned a little more about diabetes, and I discovered I probably got it because of genetics. It's easier to accept it now that I have an actual reason."

"You always have to know why, don't you?" James asked.

"Of course. Don't you know me by now? And Dr. Pomfrey gave me a stern talking to. She said to stop feeling sorry for myself and just enjoy life."

"Good advice," Sirius praised.

"Sounds like a smart woman," James agreed.

"And part of enjoying life is spending time with two of my favorite people. We haven't had a date night in a while. How about cinema and a movie?" Remus asked looking between both of them.

He saw the worried frowns on their faces and knew what they were thinking.

"Don't worry, guys. I know I can't get chocolate at the cinema. But I can't stop living, and we alway see a movie before going out to dinner. So come on. What do you say?"

Sirius shrugged, and James returned it.

Finally Sirius said, "It's a date."

(word count: 1,708)


End file.
